Kenneth G. Mills
Kenneth George Mills (January 25, 1923 – October 8, 2004) was a Canadian poet, metaphysical/philosophical speaker and author. Life Overview An exponent of the oral tradition, mills gave spontaneous lectures and poetry performances for over 37 years. At the same time, he became noted for his accomplishments in music, particularly as the conductor of the choral ensemble The Star-Scape Singers. He excelled at composing, painting and design and has been described by some as a New Age man, a man for all seasons, and a Renaissance man.Omega New Age Directory, book review of The Golden Nail, November 1993.Omega New Age Directory, book review of Change Your Standpoint ~ Change Your World, August 1998.Joseph, Urban, quoted in “An Open Letter of Appreciation to Canada,” written by Rolland G. Smith, broadcast journalist, and published in PRIME Mentors’ newsletter, “Tenth Anniversary Gala Celebration!” April 1997. Life Mills was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, in January 1923. He attended Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick.Obituary, New York Times Trained from the age of 7 in music, he became a concert pianist, with debuts in Toronto in 1952 and New York City in 1961.[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1SEC887473 Encyclopedia of Music in Canada], 2nd edition. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992). Though he chose to end his career as a concert pianist in 1963, he concentrated on teaching piano and adjudicating young musicians for another 10 years.Tan-Willman, Conchita: “Canadian Achievers and Their Mentors,” Vol. 1, PRIME Mentors of Canada (Toronto: PRIME Mentors of Canada, 1994). Living in Toronto, he began speaking spontaneously to those who requested that he do so,The Candy Maker’s Son: Memoirs of Kenneth G. Mills (Toronto: The Kenneth G. Mills Foundation, 2007), p. 191. ultimately offering many thousands of hours of metaphysical/philosophical lectures and meetings over his lifetime. Mills extended his musical interests in 1976 when he formed an a cappella vocal ensemble, The Star-Scape Singers. He and his singers would eventually give concerts throughout Canada, Europe, and the United States. Mills also engaged in musical composition, creating both choral and orchestral works. In addition, he explored various types of designing, and in 1993 created a line of haute couture fashions. His interest in painting yielded more than 200 large canvases.Tan-Willman, Conchita: op. cit.. He was recognized for mentoring and sponsorship of artists in all these disciplines, and he continued his mentoring and spontaneous speaking until shortly before his death in October 2004. Spontaneous lectures In 1964, Mills agreed within himself to speak about his inner experiences, but only if asked to do so. He made this agreement after he received the same message from 2 different sources: “You must learn to speak the Word again.” Then, people began seeking him out - sometimes arriving unexpectedly on his doorstep - asking about their deepest questions and concerns. Mills found himself speaking spontaneously to these seekers. When their number became too large to speak with individually, Mills began giving lectures.Ibid., p. 220. He defined his spontaneous speaking, which he called Unfoldment, as “an impromptu performance under the impelling of divine ideas. It is a projection from another dimension or plane of consciousness, causing those prepared to hear to awaken to the higher or greater possibilities of living beyond the limits of three dimensions and translating what seems to be the ordinary into another level of consideration.”''Ibid., p. 215. He also often spoke in poetry, offering some 3,000 extemporaneous poems during his lifetime.Tan-Willman, Conchita: ''op. cit. Many of Mills’ spontaneous lectures were recorded and transcribed. Ultimately, a number of them were gathered together and published as books or as spoken word recordings, described by a reviewer as offering metaphysical ideas which are “provocative and deeply inspiring.”Book review in Science of Mind, March 1994.Leading Edge Review, Fall 1993, p. 3. A reviewer of one of his poetry books observed that Mills’ universal themes “revolve around wonder, light and love,”“Book Reviews,” Performing Arts, November 1987, p. 51. while an endorsement on another of his books described Mills as having fun with the language and the sounds of words.Renee Gelpi, journalist and broadcaster, endorsement for Change Your Standpoint ~ Change Your World. It has also been said that Mills’ lectures and books “give a universal, metaphysical perspective on some of the most perplexing problems faced by men and women today.” In 1989, the Earth-Stage Actors, a New York–based ensemble, began to dramatize excerpts from Mills’ publications. Critics have called these dramatizations “a theatre of philosophy” and “modern-day Shakespeare.”Tan-Willman, Conchita: op. cit.. Music Mills’ philosophy always possessed for him strong musical implications. “The purpose of Music is to reveal to man his innate at-one-ment with a harmonic state of Being”, he said.Mills, Kenneth G., quoted in “Star-Scape Singers,” CanComp 206, December 1985, cited in [http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1SEC887473 Encyclopedia of Music in Canada], 2nd Edition. When 3 singers (from the vocal group The Free Design) asked him for help with their voices in 1976, Mills soon found himself re-engaging the world of concertizing. Within a short time, the 3 singers were joined by 7 others, and the a cappella vocal ensemble he called The Star-Scape Singers was formed. These singers were ultimately acclaimed in the United States and abroad as creators of a renaissance in choral art.Dick, Emslie, “Star-Scape Singers: A Celestial Sound,” Performing Arts in Canada, September 1986, p. 22. Star-Scape made their American debut at Carnegie Hall in 1981, ultimately performing 7 different concerts there between 1981 and 1986.Alberghini, Susan, “Star-Scape Singers’ USSR Tour Transcends Boundaries,” in Music Magazine, vol. 12, no. 2 (April 1989). New York City critics described them as “an instrument of bright and extraordinary varied capacity”“Music; Star-Scape Singers” by Tim Page. The New York Times, October 30, 1984. and “a vocal ensemble of rare distinction.”“Music Beat” by Robert Kimball. New York Post, November 1, 1984. In 1983, the Singers embarked upon their first tour to Europe, performing at several large choral festivals, and on subsequent tours at many of the great halls and cathedrals of both Western and Eastern Europe. One critic in Munich described their work with Mills as “phenomenal, artistic, one-of-a-kind vocal art.”“Sounds of Stars” by Wolfgang Schreiber, Suddeutsche Zeitung, Munich, May 29, 1985. Mills and the ensemble made a total of seven lengthy European and Soviet tours. While on tour in 1984, they were asked to make a recording for broadcast on Radio Vatican, inaugurating the World Year of Music in 1985.Alberghini, Susan, op. cit. One of their performances of The Fire Mass, considered the ensemble’s major work, at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto was broadcast nationwide by the (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) in 1988.[http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1SEC887475 Encyclopedia of Music in Canada], 2nd edition. (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992). On their tour of the USSR in 1991, Mills and the Singers led the first non-military Victory Day Parade down Gorky Street in Moscow.Alberghini, Susan, op. cit. Mills co-composed or arranged over 150 pieces for the Star-Scape repertoire in collaboration with composer Christopher Dedrick.Tan-Willman, Conchita: op. cit.. In 1996, Mills began composing spontaneous orchestral works, using four MIDI keyboards plus foot pedals to capture his instantaneous compositions. Critics have credited him with bridging the classical and new age genres.McDevitt, Sean: “Spontaneous Symphonies,” Home Recording, July/August 1999, pp. 57–58. His goal was to approximate the sounds of real instruments as closely as possible with the keyboards, and in 2002 a CD of several of his orchestral compositions, titled Majestic Tonescape, was released, performed by musicians from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.Cover notes, Majestic Tonescape CD, Sun-Scape Enterprises, 2002. Other endeavors In February 1993, Mills began to draw and paint for the first time. He soon became a prolific painter of large canvasses, creating more than 200 in less than three years. Most of his paintings depict huge flowers or otherworldly landscapes, and they have been recognized for the bold use of color and their energy. The paintings have been exhibited in both Canada and the U.S., and some are found in private collections. Mills also ventured into the realm of fashion design. Ultimately, he created an elegant line of haute couture fashions, Moulins Originales, many of which were debuted in a fashion show titled The Integrity of Elegance. This showing was captured on a pioneering high-definition television recording at New York City’s Ed Sullivan Theater in February of 1993Tan-Willman, Conchita: op. cit... Another showing of Mills’ designs occurred at the Design Exchange in Toronto during the PRIME Mentors’ 10th Anniversary Celebration, in 1997.Joseph, Urban, Director of the Design Exchange, writing in PRIME Mentors newsletter, “Tenth Anniversary Gala Celebration!” April 1997. Recognition At the gala banquet of the MedArt International 1992 World Congress, a gathering of physicians and artists who specialize in bringing the arts to medicine, Mills was presented with a Special Recognition Award “for the outstanding healing power of his art”[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B01EED71E3BF930A25753C1A9629C8B63 Obituary, The New York Times, October 13, 2004.] (i.e. his music). A lifelong supporter of the arts, Mills in 1980 founded Patrons of Wisdom, a non-profit organization that supported and encouraged young classical musicians and artists. In recognition of his continuous support of deserving individuals and “for being an exemplary mentor and for serving as a role model par excellence whom society could look up to for inspiration and guidance,” he was chosen Honorary PRIME Mentor of Canada in April 1997.PRIME Mentors of Canada Honorary PRIME Mentors. In 1998, Mills was awarded an honorary doctorate of Humanities from Wolfe’s University. That same year, the Senate of Canada recognized Mills with their Award of Excellence “for outstanding achievement in humanity, education, philosophy and arts.” Publications Poetry * Anticipations (1980) ISBN 9780919842076 * Surprises (1980) * Embellishments (1986) ISBN 9780919842083 * The Tonal Garment of the Word (recording) (1995, 2002) ISBN 9780919842243 * Words of Adjustment (1998) ISBN 9780919842090 Aphorisms * Food for No Thought, Vols. I and II (1999, 2000) ISBN 9780919842267, ISBN 9780919842298 Non-fiction * Question and Answer Encounters with Kenneth G. Mills (2008) ISBN 9780919842700 * The Candy Maker's Son: the memoirs of Kenneth G. Mills (2007) ISBN 9780919842694 * The Cornucopia of Substance (2004) ISBN 9780919842601 * Change Your Standpoint ~ Change Your World (1996) ISBN 9780919842212 * Tyranny of Love (1995) ISBN 9780919842175 * The Key: Identity (1994) ISBN 9780919842182 * The Golden Nail (1993) ISBN 9780919842137 * A Word Fitly Spoken (1980) * The New Land! Conscious Experience Beyond Horizons (1978) ISBN 9780919842014 * Given to Praise! An Array of Provocative Metaphysical-Philosophical Utterances (1976) ISBN 9780919842007 Audio / video Poetry recordings * Given to Praise: The Spontaneous Poetry of Kenneth G. Mills (recording) (1976) * Flame on the Hearth (recording) (1978, 2001) Lecture recordings * Renaissance Man Kenneth G. Mills (2009) * The Key: Identity (2006– ) * The Golden Nail (2003–2005) * Change Your Standpoint ~ Change Your World (2001–2003) ISBN 9789198423488 * The New Land! (2001) * Freedom Is Found (1991) ISBN 9780919842120 * The Quickening Spirit of Radiance (1990) ISBN 9780919842106 * Near to the Fire (1979) * The Seal of Approval (1979) ISBN 9780919842038 * The Newness of the Unchanging (1978) ISBN 9780919842021 * The Beauty Unfoldment (1977) * Given to Praise! (1976) Music Instrumental compositions * Majestic ToneScape (2002) * Promethean Fire (2000) * Arrival of the Unexpected (1998) * Let Robots Melt (1997) Choral recordings conducting The Star-Scape Singers * Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 and 2 (2001, 2003) * Tonal Persuasions, Vols. I and II (1993, 1994) * The Song – The Heart of Christmas (1990) * The Fire Mass (1990) * A Sound Voyage (1986) * The Heraldic Message (1985) * Rapture of Freedom (1984) * Rhapsody of Song (1984) * Star-Scape Over Europe, Vols. 1, 2, and 3 (1983) * The Sound of a Star (1982) * Love Clothes the Jungle (1981) * Sing Unto Me a New Song (1980) * Watch! (1980) * Sing Those Wonderful Words (1979) * Alive at Ontanaka! (1978) * On This Rock! (1977) Dianne Forsyth * Lady on the Landing (1982) Drama (Earth-Stage Actors) * Coat of Many Colors (1996) * What If You Decided to Be Real? (1989) Documentaries * The Rapture of Being (1997) * Did You Feel It? (1993) See also * List of Canadian poets References External links * The Kenneth G. Mills Foundation website Category:1923 births Category:2004 deaths Category:Canadian philosophers Category:Canadian poets Category:Writers from New Brunswick Category:Canadian painters Category:Canadian designers Category:Artists from New Brunswick